The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially declared the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, as the winner of the 2026 Osun State governorship election.
In a competitive contest held across all 30 local government areas and 332 wards in Osun State, Adeleke secured a total of 511,067 votes, representing approximately 50.8 percent of the total ballots cast. His victory secures his return to office for a second term.
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Oyebamiji, emerged as the first runner-up, polling 444,815 votes (44.2 percent). Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) finished third in the race with 17,180 votes. The remaining 12 candidates contesting the election shared the remaining balance of the votes cast.
Official data released by INEC showed that out of the 2,339,233 registered voters in Osun State, 1,005,800 voters participated in the election, representing a voter turnout of roughly 43 percent. A total of 20,721 ballots were rejected during the collation process.
While electoral observers noted that the overall voting process remained largely peaceful across several polling units, reports of technical delays, vote-buying concerns, and minor logistical challenges were recorded in select areas during the exercise.
Following the announcement, supporters of the incumbent governor took to the streets across Osogbo and major towns in the state to celebrate the election victory.
